The present invention relates to the field of integrated circuit manufacture; more specifically, it relates to an apparatus for detecting foreign material under a resilient film adhesively attached to a substrate chuck and method of using the apparatus.
The adhesive backed film on the surface of substrate chucks must be removed and replaced periodically. During the replacement process foreign material can become lodged between the surface of the chuck and the adhesive layer causing a bump in the film which will cause the substrate to be held improperly by the chuck causing misprocessing or damage to the substrate and/or devices (e.g. integrated circuit chips) being fabricated on the substrate. Currently no repeatable method exists for detecting foreign material lodged between the surface of the chuck and the adhesive layer. Accordingly, there exists a need in the art to eliminate the deficiencies described hereinabove.